The adventures of Peregrine Pickle

"The genius of "Peregrine Pickle" and its young author is to be found neither exclusively in the interpolated tales that its contemporary audience read avidly nor in the 'main story' that appealed to its later readers but rather in the entire canvas upon which is painted a densely populated and vividly realized fictional world. Taken in its entirety, Smollett's novel still holds the power to delight and instruct a modern audience by virtue of its author's capacious vision, his force of spirit, and his ability to capture life in words and images."--from the editors' introduction.